Angola's president made his daughter head of the state oil company; his successor fired her, and courts froze her assets in four countries

José Eduardo dos Santos ruled Angola for 38 years, until 2017. In June 2016 he appointed his daughter Isabel chair of Sonangol, the state oil company. His successor, João Lourenço, fired her in November 2017. In December 2019 a Luanda court froze her Angolan bank accounts and her company stakes. In January 2020 the Luanda Leaks, 715,000 documents, described an empire estimated at $2 billion. Angola alleged that she and her husband steered $1 billion in state funds, including Sonangol money, to companies they held stakes in. Angolan and Portuguese authorities froze her assets, as did the United States. A Dutch tribunal ruled her Galp stake, estimated at $500 million, "tainted by illegality." In November 2022 Interpol issued a red notice at Angola's request for alleged embezzlement, fraud, influence peddling and money laundering while she ran Sonangol. In 2022 the state nationalised her stake in the telecoms company Unitel. Unitel had lent 323 million euros and $43 million to her Dutch company in 2012 and 2013, and repayments stopped. In December 2023 a London judge froze up to £580 million of her assets worldwide, including property in Britain, Monaco and Dubai. The Court of Appeal refused her appeal on 30 September 2024. In January 2024 Angola charged her with 12 crimes over her time at Sonangol. She is charged, not convicted, as of the latest report found. She lives in Dubai and calls the case political persecution.